MacOS – How to restore default system files

macosrestorethemes

Does anyone have the default SArtFile.bin (path: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreUI.framework/Versions/A/Resources/SArtFile.bin) for Mavericks 10.9.5?

I was tinkering around with the file listed above but forgot to back it up.
Does anyone know how I can restore the file to its original form so I can undo my changes, or how to restore default system files?

Best Answer

This is a specific case of the general restore process:

Basically you have three places where you can get the original system files (except backups):

  • Recovery HD
  • Combo update installer
  • the (Mac) OS X installer

The Recovery HD is a basic OS X system only and just contains a subset of the files of the full system. Some files may even be outdated or different compared to the files of the full system. To mount the Recovery HD enter diskutil mount Recovery\ HD in Terminal. To get access to the system files mount BaseSystem.dmg:

hdiutil mount /Volumes/Recovery\ HD/com.apple.recovery.boot/BaseSystem.dmg

To copy a file enter:

sudo cp /Volumes/Mac\ OS\ X\ Base\ System/path/to/file /path/to/file

in your example:

sudo cp /Volumes/Mac\ OS\ X\ Base\ System/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreUI.framework/Versions/A/Resources/SArtFile.bin /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreUI.framework/Versions/A/Resources/SArtFile.bin

The Combo update installer may contain the file in question. Like the Recovery HD it only contains a subset of files of the full OS X system. To extract and install the original file, download Pacifist and open the installer package. Search for the file in question and install it. You need admin privileges to do that.

If the file isn't available in the Recovery HD or the Combo installer you have to download the newest OS X installer (in your case Install OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)). The approach is similar to the Combo updater method. Right-click Install OS X Mavericks -> Show Contents, navigate to /Contents/SharedSupport and mount the InstallESD.dmg. Open the folder Packages in the mounted image and then the file OSInstall.mpkg with Pacifist. Search for the file in question and install it. You need admin privileges to do that.

In your case you are lucky because the file SArtFile.bin can be found in the Recovery HD. So use the method outlined above to recover the file.

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